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 Warren
Wellness Day Provides Nutritious Source of Information
One strong mind, plus one healthy body, equals one great
kid.
This is the message that was etched in students’ minds at
Warren Street Elementary School’s first annual Wellness Day
on Thursday, June 1. Warren Street PTA members and Wellness
Day co-chairs Michelle Blanchard and Rachel Truckenmiller
planned the event to teach students that practicing healthy
habits should not just take place on Wellness Day, but every
day. “Part of what we’re trying to say is that it’s not what
you can’t do, it’s what you can do in terms of making
healthy choices,” said Truckenmiller. “Most children
hear ‘don’t eat that’ or ‘no, that’s bad for you’ from
parents and teachers. We wanted Wellness Day to teach
students that based on what they’ve learned, they can
make the choice of being healthy, well-rounded
individuals.”
The day kicked off with a morning assembly where the
Johnstown High School Jazz Ensemble, led by Daniel
Jones, played for the entire student body. Students then
went on to participate in various workshops throughout
the day. Kindergarten through third graders learned
about bicycle safety from the Johnstown Police
Department, the Cornell Cooperative Extension came in to
talk about healthy eating and the new food pyramid, and
the HFM Prevention Council put on a puppet show about
tobacco use and smart choices. Fourth through sixth
grade students participated in adventure games such as
rope courses and learned martial arts from Mike Campos.
Students also took part in a “Battle of the Belts”
seatbelt race where teams of four students raced against
each other in two separate cars to see who could buckle
up, switch places and get out of their car the fastest.
At the end of the day, students received gift bags full
of health-conscious information and a nutritious snack.
“We’re trying to teach students that being healthy is
not only about not being sick,” said Blanchard. “There
are so many facets to being healthy, such as the
emotional and psychological aspects where sometimes
simply listening to music can help. We want to show them
that exercise can be done during recess. Most students
don’t think of recess as exercise because it’s fun, we
want to show them otherwise. The idea behind Wellness
Day is to teach students about what makes a healthy
lifestyle and what it looks like, so hopefully living
healthy — in all aspects — will become second-nature to
them.”
The State Education Department is requiring that every
local educational agency that participates in the
National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program,
Special Milk Program and/or Summer Food Service Program
needs to establish a local wellness policy. The Wellness
Policy must include goals for nutrition education,
physical activity and other school-based activities
designed around promoting student wellness. To learn
more about the Greater Johnstown School District’s
Wellness Policy as it is being developed,
click
here.
Above photo: A representative from the Cornell
Cooperative Extension teaches students about the new
food pyramid.
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